Recent Profile Visitors

the 7009 is good for ht, mediocre for music !
there's one on tardme at the moment for the fantasy price of $1699 !
that's plain silly for a 4 generation old unit, $5-600 is more realistic.
if you want a musical sounding avr that won't break the bank, look for a used rotel avr-1550.

true, rotel are excellent value not end game, stick with their class ab amps though, the class d are meh.
the latest perreaux sound very solid state to my ears, dynamic and powerful but not the most musical devices.
if you want the best of the best all-in-one then be prepared to spend more than $9k.

there's also gennady lyskin/gennlabs in waikanane.
he's worked on my technics sp10 and has experience with various nakamichis.
you can find documentation of his work on his website
http://www.gennlab.com/index.html

welcome !
back in the '80s wellington was ground zero for some very accomplished hi-fi companies - craft audio, hfa, mclaren, mega.
most of the company prinicpals are still around, some still involved in audio.
have you heard of the wellington audio club ?
there may be members who share your interests.
https://wellingtonaudioclub.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/WELLINGTON-AUDIO-CLUB-111934772153124/

back in the day the td160/grace 707 was a classic kiwi combo, for those who wanted a bit more than a rega planar 3 but couldn't stretch to a linn sondek.
the under-rated grace 707 arm was good enough for everything from a cheapy throw away cartridge to mega-buck koetsus ( i used a koetsu red for a time in my old 707).
at a minimum i would start with the venerable audio-technica at95, only $79 !
https://www.listeningpost.co.nz/Products/Turntables/Turntables-record-player-vinyl-phono-Needle-Stylus/AT95E-__I.93020__C.27778__N.27756
for a little bit more, the latest goldring e-series has been getting good reviews,
one caveat, the goldring has quite a wide body, so check that it fits inside the grace's headshell.
https://www.listeningpost.co.nz/Products/Turntables/Turntables-record-player-vinyl-phono-Needle-Stylus/Goldring-E1-Cartridge-Listening-Post-Christchurch-__I.222770__C.27778__N.27756